Life after the war
by nikitabella
Summary: The war with Gaea is over. Camp Jupiter is moving to New York. Everything is going back to normal. But when demigods are included even the every-day activities are an adventure. Follow your favourite demigods while trying to live as normal as they can.Random one-shots about Percabeth, Jasper, Leyna, Frazel, Tratie, Thalico and many more.Give it a try!Ch6:Forgive but don't forget.
1. As normal as it can be

**A\N: Hello people! This story is basically about what our favorite Greek and Roman heroes are doing after the war. It will contain mostly family fun, fluff, friendship and so on. The main characters will be different in every chapter but mainly Percabeth and Jasper since they are my favorite. There will also be Thalico (because I simply love them!), Leyna, Frazel and maybe some Traite but if you want this last one please give me ideas. **

**Every chapter will be like a different one-shot. No major plot or anything-just something to distract me from that hellhound called school.**

**Enjoy!**

_As normal as it can be_

Annabeth's POV:

For the first time in nearly a year I felt completely happy. The war was over, we managed to survive it. Everything was going back to its normal stance and that made me a little too exited for my own liking but I couldn't find it in my self to care. We all had a reason to be happy.

We were in _Argo II _and on our way back to camp Half-blood. The Romans were preparing to transfer their whole camp next to ours. Reyna had said that everything will be ready in three or four days. I was utterly confused that New Rome could be 'packed' for such a short time but Percy assured me that they were pretty capable of doing it. I didn't question him anymore.

Everyone was practically buzzing with excitement, even Jason, who was with us to help us prepare the land for camp Jupiter. Of course, he couldn't be separated with Piper now but he would never admit it. Romans and their pride.

''We're almost home Percy.'' I broke the silence. We were in my room right now, because there was no such thing as privacy in his. Leo was over his head these days and literally couldn't sit still for more than ten seconds. It ended up with Piper charmspeaking him into falling asleep. So now I and Percy were comfortable cuddled on my bed, hugging each other, just savoring the moment. We were in no rush anymore.

''I know. You have no idea how much I missed that place.'' He answered. I could hear his smile even though I couldn't see his face.

I smiled too, unable to stop myself.

''I missed you too, Wise girl.'' He then added making me giggle uncontrollably. I turned towards him.

''Someone is being cheesy. Maybe the stay in Tartarus had messed up your already messed-up brain.'' I mocked him unable to stop laughing. He just shrugged and smiled back at me.

''My cheesy Seaweed brain.'' I sighed dramatically but his grin just got wider.

''But you like me like this.'' He replied with such confidence that I wanted to argue, but he was right. I wouldn't admit it to him though.

''Just shut up and kiss me already.'' I hissed and he didn't wait for another invitation.

Our moment was shortly interrupted by a knock on the door.

''Um guys, sorry for interrupting you but we are landing within five minutes.'' Piper announced through the door. ''I'm leaving now.''

Her steps fade away in the distance.

''We should go up there.'' I sighed and tried to stand up but Percy didn't let me.

''She said five minutes. One to get presentable…''he kissed my cheek. ''one to get to the upper deck…'' his lips trailed to my neck. ''That leaves-what?-three minutes? Three whole minutes.'' He whispered in my ear and I was completely distracted by now.

''Mmm, but don't you want to see the camp? Not that I'm complaining…'' I couldn't finish because, suddenly, his lips were on mine.

We stayed like that for a little longer until I broke apart and stood up.

''Come on, the whole camp wants to see you. You don't want to disappoint them, right?'' I teased.

He just groaned while I pulled him up.

''Fine.'' He tried to stay annoyed but the smirk was like permanently glued to his face. He was gorgeous.

As soon as we reached the deck, we saw that everyone else was already there. Leo was navigating the ship which was flying near the ocean surface.

Piper was standing by the railing with closed eyes. She was smiling while the breeze was pulling back her hair. Jason was hugging her from behind, his head resting on top of hers and staring at the distance with peaceful face. He whispered something to Piper and they both laughed then.

They were the perfect example that Greeks and Romans could work together. Of course, it won't be so easy once we are all at one place but everything will work out. We had trust in each other now, something which wasn't there the last time.

As the ship landed at Long Island's beach, a loud cheering was heard from the woods. The voices were getting closer and closer by the second. When every one of us had touched the sand, a loud crowd emerged from the direction of the camp. The Stolls were leading them.

''Perce!'' Travis and Connor both shouted and lunged at him simultaneously. The three of them fall to the ground and started laughing like crazy. It was pretty weird.

And then it all started.

Campers were hugging us, congratulating us, asking for details and so on. Leo was like a kid on Christmas morning. His cabin mates had gathered around him and were grinning and congratulating him. He was at home. Piper was greeted by most of the Apollo boys which made Jason narrow his eyes and encircle her shoulders protectively.

I was talking with my half-siblings when Connor Stoll spoke up, gaining everybody's attention.

''People, we need to celebrate!'' a loud cheer erupted.

''And celebrate we will but first, we need to end the official part.'' Travis continued.

''To the bonfire!'' the sons of Hermes shouted and took off towards it.

After we obeyed the traditions and burned the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence, Chiron stepped forward along with Mr. D.

''I want to greet all of you for your success.'' Started the centaur. ''Percy, welcome back. I'm grateful to see that you are in one peace.''

Everyone laughed at that.

''I'm grateful too.'' Percy commented then. ''It's nice to be back at home.''

The happy mood affected the magical flames of the fire and they reached almost twenty meters. I think it's the highest level it had ever reached.

''We have every reason to celebrate. Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, along with Hazel Levesque and Frank Zang experienced so many unpleasant things, literally gone through Tartarus and back, because of this quest.'' Percy squeezed my hand tighter. ''I announce the quest as successfully finished, the seven of you are the greatest heroes of Olympus. Now off you go!'' Chiron finished.

We all cheered loudly, making the flames crack and change colors.

And then Mr. D came forward and looked at everyone before speaking:

''I thought that you would be dead. But you're not. So job well done and whatever.'' He finished but even his grumpy mood couldn't bring us down now.

We stood up and bowed and then took off towards the mess hall.

It was around midnight when we headed back to the bonfire for the traditional sing along after dinner. It had been so long since we had done this, since we had reason to sing! We were singing louder than ever before. The air was filled with laughter and talking. No one bothered to seat with his cabin mates; everyone was seated with his friends.

Percy and I stopped singing and he suddenly hugged me tight. His face was split apart by his grin. I was sure that I was mirroring his expression.

''We're home! I'm finally back at home!'' he exclaimed stupidly.

''Yeah, Seaweed brain, we're home. And if you ever ditch us like that so help me gods…'' but he put a hand on my mouth.

''I won't leave you on purpose, I promise. Deal?'' he asked sheepishly.

''Deal.'' I answered and kissed him with a smile.

We were again interrupted by Rachel Dare.

''Hey guys! I'm so happy to see you're alive, Percy.''

''Hey Rache…wait! You won't tell us another great prophecy, right?'' Percy looked at her worriedly. ''I have been engaged in enough of these for a lifetime.''

''I don't think so. Now, it comes the boring part.'' She reassured us both.

''Thank the gods!'' I exclaimed and we all laughed.

''So everything is back to normal?'' Percy asked in amazement.

I watched how Piper and Jason were laughing at Leo while he was covered in dirt on the ground, pouting. A little away from them Travis was grinning at Katie Gardner while she was scowling him for something. Some Aphrodite kids had circled them and were giggling lightly. A great mood was spread all over camp Half-blood.

''As normal as it can be around here.'' I smiled and looked Percy in the eyes.

We were demigods after all: normal was a different thing for us.

**A\N: Well… this is the first one-shot. I hope that you liked it. They all deserve a happy ending, don't they? **

**Please, leave me a peace of your mind in a review. You are free to make suggestions and to give ideas for a next chapters, I'll put the ideas in as soon as I can. Review and thank you for reading!**


	2. Snowballs and strategies

**A\N: Hello guys. An idea struck me last night and I quickly wrote it down. I really want for the winter to start already so this is my begging to the gods for snow. I hope that you would like it. **

**Enjoy! :))**

_Snowballs and strategies_

''Oh come on Wise girl, Chiron said we can go!'' Percy practically whined in front of his girlfriend.

''No, we have work to do.'' She declared.

''Just for an hour or two.'' Leo joined the pleading game too.

Piper looked at the daughter of Athena with big convincing eyes.

''It will be fun. And we need a little time out right?'' she said with a hopeful smile. She didn't dare use charmspeak on her though; Annabeth was scary when she was angry.

The said blonde was standing in front of her cabin with crossed arms, determined to not let them influence her. After a couple of seconds, spent in silence, the son of Poseidon finally huffed.

''Fine, stay here if you want. Come on guys, let's go without her.''

What the heck was Percy thinking? Piper and Leo turned their heads to look at him. He would never leave behind his girlfriend like that. What was he thinking?

Realization struck Piper just a second before Percy spoke again.

''It's not our fault that she doesn't know how to have fun in the winter.''

The words had a predictable effect on Annabeth. She narrowed her eyes immediately at the now smirking boy.

''I know exactly how to have fun Jackson.'' She said stepping closer in attempt to glare properly at him.

''Oh yeah?! Prove it then.'' He challenged then.

Piper and Leo locked eyes. They both knew that Annabeth would never refuse a challenge even if it was a snowball fight. For her, it was still a chance to beat Percy in another game.

The daughter of Athena smiled evilly at her boyfriend.

''It's so on.'' She said darkly.

''Sweet!'' Leo interrupted then, fist-pumping the air. ''Go change in some warm clothes and we will meet here again after fifteen minutes.''

The other three nodded and they all went to their own cabins.

Piper quickly changed in warmer clothes. She put on her thick white winter jacket and long black boots. She exited her cabin just when Annabeth was leaving her own. The boys were already waiting for them. The four of them headed to Thalia's tree and crossed the border lines heading to a nearby clearing.

It was winter brake. Just a day or so ago it had started to snow and Leo and Percy wanted to go snowball fighting. But this was impossible at camp since the weather was controlled so Percy was forced to beg Chiron over and over again to let them exit the camp just for a little while. He had finally agreed but the only condition was that the group would be small. So that's why Annabeth, Percy, Leo and Piper were the only one to go.

Piper smiled while they were walking. Her three friends were walking ahead so she could admire their happiness. The combining of the two camps had been slowed down because of some Romans who didn't want to move away. However, after three months everything was ready. Jason had gone back to Camp Jupiter just a week ago to help prepare everything for the moving. They were expected to arrive before Christmas but nothing was sure when there are included so many demigods.

After around ten minutes they finally arrived at a small clearing in the woods.

''Perfect!'' Percy exclaimed, clapping his hands together. ''So how do you prefer to do this?'' he asked no one in particular.

Annabeth straightened her posture and smiled knowingly at him.

''Boys vs. girls. You and Leo against me and Piper.''

''I'm on!'' The daughter of Aphrodite said and smiled.

''Oh, oh, we can use our powers!'' Leo bounced up and down. The girls rolled their eyes simultaneously: he was such a child sometimes.

''But no weapons. This is just a game between friends.'' Piper added and everyone nodded.

''Fine, we have…ten minutes to find a hiding place, to arrange our strategies and then we begin, agreed?'' Annabeth asked.

''Yes.'' They all said and the boys headed to the far end of the clearing.

Annabeth pointed a large tree to Piper and they headed to it.

When the daughter of Athena faced her, Piper smiled wide. She could tell from the glint in the other girl's eyes that she had formed a plan. It wasn't a surprise actually. Annabeth was daughter of Athena-goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. And it didn't matter that it was going to be a snowball fight, it was still needed a plan.

''Just tell me what I have to do.'' Piper told her.

''You know me well.'' Annabeth smiled friendly at the girl and she just shrugged with a smile of her own. ''Well, I was thinking, since they said that we can use _all_ our powers…''

After the blond girl explained everything to Piper she was a bit hesitant.

''Isn't this a little harsh? This is Leo and Percy we're talking about…'' she started but was cut short.

''Have you forgotten about Leo's last prank on your cabin?'' Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

Piper considered this just for a second. She smiled with a dark smile.

''They are so going down.''

''Start!'' Percy yelled so the girls could hear him. He and Leo had made a big pile of snowballs and were hiding behind a wall made of snow too.

The girls were nowhere to be seen and that scared Percy a little. Teasing Annabeth was great but now he had given her the perfect chance to take her revenge on him. Oh, and Annabeth was so good at making battle plans that it was suicidal to challenge her. Percy cursed in his mind again while looking around for any sign of the girls.

''What do you think is their plan?'' Leo asked. He was smiling and preparing to shoot anyone who got near enough.

''I don't know but we must stay alarmed. Annabeth is master of strategies. And Piper with her skills and charmspeaking…''

''Yeah, yeah, we are in trouble, I got it.''

Just then a ball hit Percy in the back. He whirled around with lightening speed and shot a ball himself before even looking. It flew through the air and smashed itself in a tree's trunk in the forest.

''There isn't anyone there.'' Leo concluded while looking closely himself.

Percy didn't answer. Instead he stepped in the forest and hid behind a tree motioning to his friend to be as quiet as possible. The snow creaked silently then, almost inaudible, but Percy was a well trained demigod. He lowered himself while he lifted up dozen snowballs with his powers. Snow was frozen water, after all. It was just a tiny bit harder to control it than liquid water.

Another snowball flew towards Leo but he was ready. He summoned fire and melt it down before it could even touch him.

''That's so unfair!'' Piper's voice echoed then and Percy smiled triumphantly.

He threw the balls to the branches of a tree from where Piper's voice had come. Her white jacked was hiding her well but she had blown her perfect cover with the yelling.

Piper's eyes widened and she had to slide down the tree's trunk to escape from the attack. She managed to get away in time but the balls caused a small avalanche to cover her. She shrieked when the snow dropped on her head but didn't loose any more time. While the boys were laughing, she had gathered snow in her hands and made a snowball. She threw it and it hit Leo directly in the face. And since he was laughing his butt off, his mouth got filled.

Meanwhile, Percy was attacked by an invisible Annabeth. He had to predict that she would bring her Yankee's hat. How stupid of him!

He recovered from his stupor then and willed as many snowballs as he could to fly at the direction, he was thinking Annabeth stood. He hoped that the daughter of Athena wasn't that fast and his wave of snowballs would reveal her position. After just a second the balls hit something and Annabeth became visible again, her cap buried somewhere in the snow.

''Why hello there Miss Chase, how have you been lately?'' Percy asked with a face splitting grin across his face. She stood up with narrowed eyes and a devious smile playing on her lips.

''Better than you, that is for sure.'' She said coyly which confused Percy.

He was about to ask what she meant when a giant snowball hit the branches of the tree above him. A huge pile of snow covered him from head to toe. He managed to free himself just as his girlfriend found her invisibility hat and she was gone again.

He turned towards Leo to find him staring back.

''Dude, it wasn't me…she made me do it!'' he pointed to a laughing Piper. Percy just nodded and smiled in understanding at his friend. Leo sighed and then turned to the daughter of Aphrodite.

''Now Beauty queen, you'll see how bad Valdez can be!'' He said smiling and she abruptly stopped laughing. Her eyes widened and she took of before Leo could even blink. He started chasing her around and hitting random trees with fireballs, making snow fall from them.

Percy laughed at the sight of these two but stopped as soon as he realized his mistake. He had distracted himself!

''Boo!'' Annabeth whispered in his ear and he jumped about twenty inches up in the air. In the next second something heavy pushed him down and he fell flat on his face in the pile of snow again. He managed to turn on his back and was now face to face with his laughing girlfriend on top of him, hat in her right hand.

''I think we win.'' She finally smiled victoriously down at him.

''And what exactly was the prize?'' he smiled back at her, despite the position they were in.

She just grinned at him and in the next second they were in a heated kiss, forgetting about everything else around them.

''It's good to know that some things never change.'' a familiar male voice sounded then.

The couple broke apart and looked up to see Jason Grace, grinning at them.

''Hey, you're here!'' Percy exclaimed from under Annabeth.

''How did you find us?'' She smiled at the son of Jupiter too.

''Chiron told me where to search for you. It wasn't that difficult actually, Piper can scream really loud if she wants to.''

They all chuckled. Annabeth stood up and held her hand for Percy to stand up too. He accepted it and after getting up he put his hand around her shoulders.

''How much of this have you witnessed?'' The son of Poseidon asked his cousin then.

''Ah, not much, just Leo throwing snowballs causing the snow to cover you. And everything after that.'' Jason smiled, repeating the scene in his head.

''Where is he actually?'' Annabeth then asked.

A girly shriek was heard then. Jason, along with Percy and Annabeth, went to the clearing to see Leo chasing Piper like there was no tomorrow. She was laughing like a little child. Jason smiled tenderly at the sight of his girlfriend so happy. He really had missed this during the last year.

Leo then spotted his best friend and stopped in his track.

''Jase, bro, you're here!'' Leo's grin had soon disappeared of his face when Piper lunged at him from behind and they both fell in the snow.

''I win!'' She announced loudly, standing up.

''Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I got distracted so it doesn't count.'' Leo grumbled while standing up.

''Rematch then?'' Annabeth asked with raised eyebrow. ''I don't mind, I can beat Seaweed brain whenever I want.''

''You two Percy?'' Leo asked incredulously.

The son of Poseidon just shrugged with a smile. It was like no one could stop smiling these days.

Piper went to Jason and hugged him. He encircled her waist and didn't let her go after that.

''I would like to participate in this but Chiron told me to call you back. We arrived.''

Everyone knew what that meant: the Romans were here.

''Oh gods, I forgot to tell Rachel about Octavian!'' Percy then said face-palming himself.

He let Annabeth go and sprinted towards camp. They all chuckled and started walking after him.

''The rematch will wait then.'' Piper said smiling up at her boyfriend.

Jason couldn't resist the urge anymore so he kissed her passionately. They stopped walking and she wrapped her hands around his neck.

They could have stayed like this a while longer if it wasn't for Leo.

''Get a room!''

**A\N: I really didn't have any idea how to finish this and thought that a typical Leo thing would be good enough. I hope that you liked it. I got requests for JASPER chapter. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. The next one will be about a game of Capture the flag. Stay tuned for it! **

**Please review ant let me know how is this story going, do you like it, do you not? **

**Oh, and last but not least, thank so much to all my reviewers! You really make my day! Love ya! **


	3. Old newcomers and Capture the flag

**A\N: I'm so sorry that this is coming up so late but I couldn't find the draft for this chapter and when I finally did it turned out that I had to fix around fifty percent of the written. And not to mention school *shudder*. Only today I had the time to finish reading **_**The Mark of Athena**_**! It's so amazing and dramatic that I was going from laughing to crying all the time. But I'm sure you don't want to read about my life so…on with the story.**

**Enjoy!**

_Old newcomers and Capture the flag_

''Beauty queen, are you awake?'' Piper heard a quiet yet persistent male's voice. It sounded familiar to her but she was too sleepy to even open her eyes.

''She's still asleep.'' Another boy whispered.

''Let's just leave _before_ she wakes up and pummel us with her knife.'' The first one suggested. Piper started to sober up but didn't move from her spot. Even half asleep she knew that these voices didn't belong to one of her brothers.

''Oh, did I hear fear in your voice?'' a third one mocked quietly. Someone chuckled. Now Piper was listening intently. One of the boys was sounding way too familiar. But she was sure that he wouldn't dare enter her cabin like that. He wasn't _that_ stupid, right?

''You have to admit that she can be scary. She is learning from Annabeth and holy Hephaestus, she can charmspeak you into doing anything. I prefer to run before she had discovered what we did.''

Piper smirked secretly. Yep, only Leo was dumb enough to mess up with her this early in the morning.

''Too bad you three can't stay quiet enough.'' She said casually, sitting up on her bed.

''We're so not…'' started Connor Stoll but then they realized what was happening and looked at Piper with big eyes.

She was smiling, proud that she had caught the biggest pranksters at Camp Half-blood but then her eyes drifted to the door where a big plastic bag was placed. She noticed a black T-shirt poking out of it. It belonged to her. On instinct, she turned to her dresser at the end of her bed and saw that it wasn't closed properly. Her eyes turned to the boys with a murderous glare.

''You didn't …''

They looked at each other and nodded. Then they flew out of cabin 10 as fast as the wind, shutting the door loud enough to wake her siblings up.

To be sure, she went and opened her dresser only to find it completely empty. She glared at the closed door.

''You guys are so dead!'' she threatened aloud which earned her a couple of strange looks from her sisters but she didn't care. She was going to make them pay. First of all, she had to find what to wear. A heavy sigh left her lips.

''Lacy?'' Piper turned to her half-sister.

''Yes?'' she answered a little sleepily.

''Can you lend me something…suitable for me to wear? The Stolls and Leo played a prank and…'' she was cut off by a loud shriek.

''Finally, I can dress you up! Yeeeeeep!'' Piper sighed again as Lacy was bouncing up and down.

''Please, nothing too girly. Or pink.''

Lacy just waved her off and skipped to her own dresser. She was humming something, clearly exited to dress her older sister. Piper, on the other hand, was planning how to bring her pranksters down.

At breakfast Piper showed up in a dress. Considering it was Lacy who picked it up, it could have been much worse. The dress was with thin straps, sunny yellow at the bodice. The colour was getting darker and at the end by her knees it was orange. Her shoulders were covered with short black jacket. Piper wasn't founding it so bad, it was ten times better than the one her mother put her in when she clamed her. She shuddered at the memory.

Several sons of Apollo, Hermes and probably Mercury whistled at her while the others were just staring, making her uncomfortable. She wondered if the ground can open and swallow her just then and there.

''Nice Mclean!'' Connor said loud enough for everybody to hear.

She glared openly at him but after a couple of seconds she made her way towards him with a sweet smile. Too sweet.

''Thanks Connor. You know…I wondered if you could go to Chiron and tell him about what you did.'' The boy immediately obeyed since she was using her charmspeak on him. ''Oh, you can take your clothes off, not counting the underwear, right?'' she added and he just nodded with glassy eyes.

She smiled triumphantly and went to join her half-siblings at the Aphrodite/Venus table. (Since the camps combined the Romans had to eat with the Greeks which meant that they were separated by their godly parentage and not their cohorts in attempt to help the bounding between them.)

Every single camper was laughing hard when they saw Connor's face after he had realized what was happening. On top of that, he got the three of them into kitchen duty for a week because they had entered another cabin without permission.

The only people who weren't laughing were Leo and Travis. They knew very well that they were next in Piper's revenge list.

''Campers, I have an announcement to make.'' Said Chiron loudly after breakfast was finished, causing everyone to shut up and look at him.

''We have to greet a new camper. Technically, he isn't new but after a lot of …traveling he had decided to stay permanently with us. So welcome back child!''

The centaur turned to his left to greet Nico di Angelo.

Most of the campers cheered loudly. Nico was one of the greatest heroes along with the seven of the prophecy. He was still the outsider since he was the scary child of Hades but he had earned a respectful name. Percy along with Annabeth and Jason went to shook his hand when he went to his table. Piper waved him from her spot and he waved her back with brotherly smile on his face. He sat next to Hazel who hugged him tight.

''We have a tradition that I think most of you will like. After dinner we will arrange a game of Capture the flag…''

His next words couldn't be heard because of the cheering coming mainly from the kids of Ares/Mars. The children of the love goddess were the least excited. Only Piper was happy about the upcoming game.

'A perfect opportunity for revenge.' She thought and her smile grew even wider.

Chiron's voice took over once again.

''Leaders of the two teams will be Zeus, or in our case Jupiter and Poseidon or Neptune. There would be a counselor meeting in the big house at noon. Now off you go!''

Piper smiled satisfied again as she stood up. Her eyes turned to look at her boyfriend Jason and she noticed that he was staring at her also. As soon as he saw her looking back he smiled at her, winked at nodded towards the climbing wall. She smiled and nodded. They were going to meet there but first, Piper had to find her clothes.

After dinner the two teams separated to go hide the flags. The blue team was leaded by Poseidon. After a lot of bargaining, bribing and so on it turned out that on the sea god's side would be Hecate, Athena and Apollo. Piper and Nico were the only represents of Aphrodite and Hades. Nico was invited by Percy while Piper agreed only because Leo and the Stoll brothers were in the other tem.

The red team was bigger. Jason was leading the children from cabins 5, 9 and 11. The son of Dionysus: Polux, was also in the red team along with the Demeter cabin. The other cabins didn't want to participate while the Romans were to watch the game since they had never actually played it.

Piper was a little nervous since her team was outnumbered but Annabeth was confident.

''When you have brain to arrange your forces, strength isn't determinative. Besides, we have two children of the Big three. Everything will be okay if we follow my plan.'' The daughter of Athena finished with a triumphant smirk.

Everyone chuckled at that. Annabeth was the best strategist known to camp. Her plans always worked.

''So…how are we going to be separated?'' Nico asked and turned to Percy. The son of Poseidon put his helmet on the ground and started explaining:

''Okay, I and Annabeth agreed on one thing: as a Roman Jason will probably lead the team who will search for our flag.''

Annabeth nodded in agreement and continued.

''That's why we need to concentrate on defense. The searching team will be simple: I, Percy and Piper. Nico, you will lead the main defense. You have to draw the attackers' attention away from our flag. If you see that it's not working…''

''Yeah, I got it. I shadowtravell back to the flag and rearrange the defense from there. Easy.'' The kid smiled deviously.

''You are the perfect one for that part because you know how to lead and you can always call for skeletons if they outnumber you.'' Percy smiled at his cousin and they bumped fists. He then turned to the others.

''Will, choose people from the Athena, Hecate and Apollo's cabins. You'll attack the enemy and distract them from us.''

Will Solace nodded and motioned for a few campers to join him and discuss the details.

''The rest of you, split in even groups and cover the border line. You will defend. The groups at North will listen to my brother Malcolm. Lou Ellen will lead the south groups. Austin, get the youngest campers. You will be guarding the flag. If the things get tough, Nico will come. Any questions?'' Annabeth finished and looked at everyone. No one said anything and she nodded.

Everyone split into the arranged groups to discuss the details. That left Annabeth, Percy and Piper alone.

''We are the searching team.'' The daughter of Athena announced quietly. ''The smaller the group is, the better. I have my hat. We reach their flag as unnoticeable as we can, grab it and run to the border line.''

''As simple as that?'' Piper asked amazed.

Annabeth smiled.

''Sometimes we need to keep it simple.''

Percy smiled and kissed his girlfriend's cheek. Chiron blew the conch horn which was a sign for the two teams to prepare.

. The second horn announced the start of the game.

Piper was full of excitement. It was her opportunity to show Jason what she was made of. She was also planning on tricking Leo and Travis although she had no idea how exactly she will do it.

''Any idea where Jason might have hidden the flag?'' Percy asked while they were making their way towards the enemy's territory.

''It will probably be somewhere high since he is the only one to control the winds and fly. Somewhere where he thinks we won't go …'' Annabeth was thinking out loud and a thought suddenly appeared in Piper's mind.

''Zeus' fist!'' she exclaimed.

''What?'' Percy asked confused. But Annabeth understood.

''You think so? You know him better than us, are you sure?'' she turned to Piper.

''Oh, I get it now.'' Percy agreed making Annabeth roll her eyes.

''He knows the history of the place, he knows that most of the demigods don't go there.'' The daughter of Aphrodite assured them.

''But it's too obvious: the son of Jupiter and the Zeus' fist.''

''And he will think that you will think that way. The simple answer, Annabeth.'' Piper explained with wide eyes. The other two looked at her for a moment, then at each other.

''Let's go!'' both of them said and they took off in the direction of the Zeus' fist.

Somewhere in the middle of their trip they had to hide. Some of the reds passed them by, heading to the way they came from. Clarisse was leading the team. Piper, Percy and Annabeth took that as a good sign; they were walking in the right direction.

After a ten-minute run the trio saw the flag and the defending team. Annabeth put her Yankee's cap and literally disappeared. Percy drew out Riptide slowly and hid behind a tree. Piper stood there alone thinking.

''Piper, hide!'' Annabeth hissed from somewhere in front of her but Piper didn't listen.

She took a deep breath, exhaled, smiled in the most convincing way and stepped at the small clearing.

''Hello boys!'' she said cheerfully to the defenders: Connor, Travis and Jake Mason. The smiled back dumbly.

''You look so tired. Why don't you guys just _sleep_?'' she laced her voice with charm and they fell to the ground snoring. She smiled proudly and looked at the Zeus' fist where Annabeth was climbing down with the red flag. She was visible again. Piper took the chance to put some Aphrodite magic on Travis. It was going to be awesome when he discovered what had she done.

Percy came out and looked at the boys on the ground.

''Piper, this was out of plan, why did you do it?'' Annabeth stomped angrily towards her.

''I thought that I can help you by distracting them. Don't you think that they would have noticed if the flag suddenly started to float?'' the brunet reasoned herself.

''Good thinking. Besides the flag is in our hands, the boys are sleeping and can't warn anyone in any way. So let's just calm down, okay Wise girl?'' Percy said and hugged Annabeth by the waist.

''You're right Piper. Sorry, I haven't thought of that.'' Annabeth sighed and mumbled.

''Hey, what about me? I was right too!'' Percy whined like a little child making the girls laugh.

''Let's go Seaweed brain.'' The blond girl poked him in the ribs and put her cap on again.

They took off towards the border line.

Suddenly a girl appeared from the woods. Her spiky black hair was in contrast with her piercing blue eyes and pale skin. A dangerous smile was playing on her lips.

''Thalia!'' Piper exclaimed, surprised.

''Hi to you too Piper. Now, give me back the flag.'' Thalia Grace answered.

''But … how?'' Annabeth asked, revealing herself. Thalia smiled even wider.

''Long story Ann. Not the time. Now…''

''You know it's so much funnier to fight with Percy.'' Piper interrupted her, charmspeaking Jason's sister.

''What?'' the son of Poseidon shouted but was slapped by Annabeth before he could break the trance.

''Kelp head?'' the daughter of Zeus asked dumbly mesmerized by the girl's voice.

''Yes! Fight with Kelp head!'' Piper encouraged her and Thalia smiled and charged towards Percy. They begun fighting immediately, forgetting about the two girls.

''Grab the flag and go, we're close!'' Annabeth said while passing her the red flag.

''What about you?'' the Cherokee asked curiously.

''If Thalia zap Percy who do you think he'll whine to? Go!'' Then the daughter of Athena disappeared again.

Piper started running towards the border line. Soon she was able to hear clatters and clashing of metal. After a couple of minutes she was at the stream's bank. Only thirty feet or so were separating the blue team from victory.

At the both sides of the stream the two teams were fighting. Eagles and pegasus were flying above them with the Roman centurions so they could follow the game. Piper even saw a glimpse of Reyna's pegasus Scipio above them. She didn't pay them much attention though. She was concentrated on Jason standing at the opposite side of the stream with their flag in hand. He was further in the woods though, her chances to reach the border line first were better.

Their eyes met for a brief second. He smiled coyly and mouthed 'You're going down.' to her. She just laughed and blew him a kiss. They both took off towards each other at the same time. Jason's steps were larger. Luckily for Piper he had to get past a skeleton warrior (Gods bless Nico!) and that slowed him down a bit giving her the needed time to jump and land on a friendly territory, knocking Jason with her to the ground. The red flag was still in her right hand. They had won!

A loud cheer erupted from the blue team making her ears hurt. She saw how the red flag with eagle and lightning on it magically turned to blue with a horse and a trident on it. She couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face. The conch horn blew again announcing the end of the game.

Piper then averted her eyes towards Jason, who was still lying under her on the ground, their blue flag in his hand. He had completely forgotten about it. He was staring at her with amused smile and raised eyebrow but didn't make any move to get away from her. She smiled down at him and leaned to whisper in his ear:

''I win!''

Then she stood up still smiling wide and offered him a hand. He shook his head and took it, dusting himself. He didn't let her hand go and leaned to steal a kiss from her. He wasn't going to show himself as a sore looser.

It was then when Travis, Connor and Jake Mason appeared. Travis was leading them while Connor and Jake were trying hard not to laugh out loud. Their faces were as red as a tomato.

''Did we loose?'' Travis asked.

Everyone looked at him. For a second nobody spoke.

''What?'' he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Connor took of first followed shortly by Jake. Their laughter was so uncontrollable that they both fell to the ground desperately gasping for air. In just a few seconds every single camper, including Octavian and Chiron were trying to take a breath while laughing.

''Nice Stoll.'' Piper shouted from while Jason was leaning on her for support. That was followed by another round of laughter.

Travis was deep red. He was wearing a hot pink V-neck sweatshirt and neon yellow leggings. His armour was gone. He had lipstick and mascara on his face too.

''I didn't know you had a soft side Travis!'' Thalia said whipping away tears.

''I knew!'' Katie Gardner announced smiling cheekily to him. This was a revenge for her also since he is constantly annoying the Hades out of her.

''Yeah, but…I didn't know it was _that_ soft. Dude, you're wearing pink!'' Connor panted still chuckling.

''Feeling the love bro.'' Travis muttered. He glanced at Katie who was smiling triumphantly. He sighed: so much for getting a move on her. Or was this his chance? She wasn't mad at him anymore, she had her revenge. He smiled mischievously.

''I hope you like it. You won't be able to change it until tomorrow evening.'' Piper the said matter-of-factly.

Travis gasped, horror written on his face.

Leo was standing not far away from the daughter of Aphrodite motionless. He was terrified, wondering what she will do to him. His train of thoughts was cut off from Jason's gasp.

''Thalia!''

''Took you long enough to notice me.'' His sister scolded him. But seeing the bewilderment on Jason's face made her laugh at almost the next second. She shook her head and engulfed him in a hug. ''How is it going little bro?''

''Actually sis, I think that I'm going to be older that you soon. So you can stop with this.'' He smiled at her.

''Umm, actually, we won't. I quit the hunt which means that we'll be at the same age from now on. But technically, I'm still born before you.''

''You quit the hunt!? Why?'' Annabeth asked then examining her best friend from head to toe.

''Well, it's a bit complicated. In short terms, Lady Artemis wouldn't let me spend time with my brother just because he was a boy. And I'm sick of gods separating us so I just quit. We're not on good terms with her now.'' Thalia finished shrugging like it was nothing.

''Another day for the children of the Big three.'' Percy smiled knowingly at his cousin.

He was on bad terms with a lot of the gods and knew what she was talking about.

Annabeth grinned and went to hug her friend.

''Hey, BEAUTY QUEEN, COME BACK! IT'S NOT FAIR!'' Leo shouted.

It was then when Jason realized that Piper was running away with a frenetic laugh coming out of her lips. She was holding Leo's magical tool belt in one hand. Almost ten feet behind her Leo was running too, but without trousers. Thank the gods that he was wearing underwear.

''Man, what I've been missing all this time!'' Nico exclaimed then making Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Thalia laugh.

Jason then smiled looking his two best friends chase each other around. Piper was indeed a dangerous girl. And she was his as much as he was hers.

**A\N: Another stupid ending. Sometimes when I write I just can't stop but I have to if I want to update. So this chapter had a little Percabeth, Jasper, even a squint of Tratie. I'm planning for the next one to be either Frazel or Tratie but I'm still not sure. Maybe a mixture of both. Give me your suggestions and I'll try to update sooner this time though I make no promises. My schedule is hectic!**

**I hope that you liked this. Review and let me know! **

**Thanks for the support and Merry Christmas (even with a little delay). Happy new year too! Love ya!**


	4. Love-not so difficult

**A\N: Hi guys! So here am I again with another chapter. This one is Tratie. It took me a lot of time to actually write it but it was great fun. The characters might be a little OOC. I hope that you'll enjoy it! Review.**

_Love-not so difficult _

''STOLL!"" a scream echoed from the cabin area in the Greek part of the camp. Piper could bet a hundred drachmas that it had been Katie Gardner. The mentioned Stoll was probably Travis. God's the boy was such a masochist.

A few minutes later Katie stormed in the strawberry fields, her hair was flowing behind her as she paced angrily and her green eyes were dark with rage. She almost stumbled over the daughter of Aphrodite who was lying on her back, effectively hiding from everyone.

''Oh Piper, sorry. I was distracted.'' Katie apologized quickly.

''Don't worry, I heard.'' The Cherokee girl smiled reassuringly.

''Why are you here anyway? Why aren't you with your siblings playing the matchmaker like every year on this day?'' the daughter of Demeter asked, swiftly changing the subject.

Piper frowned and sat up, inviting Katie to sit down too.

''Well, I kind of don't like Valentine's Day. They all make a big fuss about it. And in my opinion you should show your love all year round, you don't need a special day about that. It's simply pointless.''

Katie stared at the daughter of Aphrodite for a minute before shaking her head.

''You are different than the others in your cabin. In a good way of course. You…you remind me of Silena.'' She admitted wondering how this will sound to Piper but she just smiled.

''I'll take that as a compliment. I get that a lot, about Silena Beauregard I mean. I wish I knew her, she seems awesome.''

''She was. Although she had her 'Aphrodite moments' '' Katie put air quotes at the last words and they both chuckled. ''she was kind and good, always there for her friends. She gave everything for us…do you know her story?''

Piper nodded, looking at the sky distractedly, like it reminded her of something good.

''Annabeth told me when I became a head counselor. She had sacrificed herself for the ones she loved. Nothing else maters, right?''

Katie stood silent. It was clear that Piper was almost daring her to say something else. She could clearly hear the edge her voice held. Maybe she had this argument before. It wasn't a secret that Drew despised Silena even before she died. And still, Katie could be wrong. She didn't know Piper that well. Sure, they were some kind of friends; Piper was just good with everybody. But they hadn't had the time to actually get to know each other. That was probably the first time when they talked about something serious, just the two of them.

''So what did he do this time?'' the daughter of Aphrodite broke the silence after a while, her smile evident in her voice again. ''I assume it was Travis that you were yelling at.''

Katie sighed exasperatedly and lifted herself up on her elbows. She didn't bother to answer the last question.

''He put around a gazillion grasshoppers in my cabin. We may be children of Demeter but they are still nasty little bugs.''

''Gods, this boy has to learn how to express his feelings properly.'' Piper sighed too while rolling her eyes.

''What feelings? He shows his distaste pretty well if you ask me.'' Katie grumbled, her hands clenching in fists.

Piper laughed out loud, unable to contain it any longer.

''He likes you Katie!'' she stated with a knowing smirk.

Katie paled. Yeah right, he liked her. Suuure. Because you always torment the ones you like and make their lives a living nightmare.

''Sorry to offend you but you're mistaken.''

''Maybe I'm not a typical Aphrodite child but I am not that oblivious to this stuff. Let's list what we know, eh?''

With that said, Piper and Katie sat crossed-legged, facing each other. The Cherokee started ticking off on her fingers.

''First, he doesn't pass you without some witty remark. He just can't stop at 'Hi'. Second, he has a nickname for you: Katie Kat, if I remember right. Third, I don't think it's a coincidence that he plays tricks only when you're around. He wants you to notice him, that's all. He had never actually hurt someone, had he?''

''Well no but…there are other ways to show a girl that you like her _if_, and I'm saying only_ if_ this is true.'' Katie argued.

The truth was that she kind of, sort of, _maybe_ liked him a little. But these feelings were mixed up with anger and a strong need to strangle him too much. The only sure thing was that whatever feelings she had towards the annoying son of Hermes, they were growing stronger.

In front of her, Piper had smiled softly and placed a hand on her knee.

''He is a son of Hermes, what do you expect? Just trust me on this one okay?''

Just then Annabeth ran to them, looking troubled.

''Piper you have to come. Your cabin is a complete mess and Drew is trying to give Percy and Jason a makeover!'' the daughter of Athena exclaimed with blazing eyes.

Piper's eyes widened and she stood quickly. Before she left though, she turned to Katie again.

''Think about it.'' And with that she followed her friend to cabin ten.

Katie stood up and started walking aimlessly around the fields, her head swimming with different thoughts.

Could he really like her? It seemed ridiculous. They had spent most of their time arguing, chasing around, pulling different pranks, fighting…the list was endless. It was hard for her to believe that he had done all this just to impress her. Couldn't he act normal for once and actually talk to her? Ugh, Hermes' sons! Why was she finding in him anyway? Apollo's sons were quite handsome too. And they were good at stuff like medicine, music, sports. And what could Travis do? Pick up locks, sneak unsuspected, steal quickly and unnoticeably: _such_ useful and good skills for a teenager.

So yeah, maybe his dark hair did look cute and soft, and shiny and his eyes were always gleaming with playfulness and mischief and his smirk was driving her insane and making her knees week at the same time but that didn't mean anything. Right? That didn't mean that she was falling for him. She couldn't be.

The conch horn announced lunchtime and Katie headed to the cabin area; she had a cabin to attend to. The only clear thought in her head was that love was such a pain in the ass.

* * *

''Hey Katie Kat, are you still mad at me?'' Travis' voice reached Katie as she was sitting with her siblings after sacrificing food to the gods.

She decided to ignore the idiot since they were in front of so many people (the Romans and Greeks ate together now). But apparently he wasn't thinking like her.

''Oh come on, you can't be that pissed, they were just a few grasshoppers.'' His voice sounded a little concerned now but he tried to cover it with a laugh.

Nothing. She just continued talking with her sister Miranda about gods know what without showing any sign that she had heard him.

''I think she is giving you the silent treatment bro.'' Connor smirked beside him on the Hermes' table. ''She is toying you and you haven't even asked her out yet.''

''I'm working on it so shut up.'' Travis grumbled as he picked at his food, not hungry anymore.

''You're not doing a very good job.'' His brother exclaimed with amusement earning a rather hard kick in the shin under the table. ''Okay okay, sheesh! Call me stupid but I think your method is wrong.''

''You're right, you are stupid.'' Travis announced then and silence filled the air.

Okay, he wouldn't admit it to Connor but he was probably right. He needed to get on Katie's good side and fast. But what was he supposed to do? Get her flowers? No, she would kill him for killing them by picking them. Get her chocolates? That worked most of the time but he had the feeling that it wouldn't do the trick. An idea then struck him and he smiled triumphantly. Maybe there was something he could give her after all…

* * *

''Who left this here?'' Katie asked when she found a package on her bed after archery.

''I don't know, it was there when I came.'' Anthony, one of her younger brothers announced while rummaging through his luggage.

''Is there a note?'' Miranda asked with gleaming eyes.

''No.'' Katie asked with scrunched eyebrows.

''Maybe it's a present for Valentine's Day. Open it!''

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes at her sister's eagerness but opened the package. Inside was a nice looking flower pot with a single red tulip in it. The flower was delicate and beautiful and Katie couldn't stop herself from gasping.

''It's beautiful!'' some of her sisters exclaimed then but she didn't pay them much attention.

She was thinking hard, trying to figure out who might have sent this to her. Usually, boys sent flower bouquets not live flowers. Of course she despised them because it was such a shame to just kill the poor plant like that. She never liked bouquets. But who could be that thoughtful?

''Katie dear, you have an admirer!'' Ashley clapped her hands which made the others roll their eyes. The black-haired girl was best friends with Samantha, a daughter of Aphrodite and the influence was noticeable.

''It's probably sent from mother.'' Katie shrugged and put the flower by the window.

''On Valentine's Day? Yeah right.''

''Katie Kat, come out come out wherever you are!'' Travis' chanting reached the Demeter cabin. She sighed deeply and decided that the sooner she showed up, the faster he will shut up.

''What?''

''Councilor meeting in ten minutes!'' he smiled smuggly at her and went towards his cabin.

''I have to go guys.'' She said to her siblings and headed to the Big house.

When she entered there was no one inside. Even Chiron and Mr. D were nowhere to be seen which was odd.

''Hello?'' Katie raised her voice.

''You're here early.'' A snickering voice came and when she spun she became face to face with Travis himself. Gods, this guy was everywhere she went today.

''Where are the others?'' she asked him while stepping a little away from him and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

''You're early, I told you twenty minutes.'' He explained patiently at her as he was talking to a four-year-old.

''No, I clearly heard that you told ten minutes.'' She argued.

''I told you twenty minutes.''

''_Ten_ minutes and all my siblings can agree with me.''

''Twenty minutes and every councilor can agree with me.''

''Ten.''

''Twenty.''

''Ten!''

''Twenty!''

''TEN!''

''TWENTY!''

''Ugh, you are so frustrating! Why don't you leave me alone?'' she finally threw her hands in the air and spun around in exasperation.

''Tell me about it. I want to tell you one simple thing and you just yell at me!'' Travis practically whined. He then muttered something which she didn't quite catch.

''What was that? If you have something to tell me then come and tell it in my face.'' Katie bellowed from the other side of the table.

''You really want to know? Then fine! I said that it would be so much easier if I didn't like you! Happy?'' Travis too was ticked off but just by the slightest bit. His bright eyes still held that playful fire, typical of every child of the gods of thieves.

Katie on the other hand was baffled. Did she hear him right? Was this another joke? Why did she care so much anyway?

''What?'' she finally managed to say in a small voice.

Travis finally realized what he had said and his cheeks turned pink. However, he smiled sheepishly.

''I like you okay? I don't know why, maybe because only you don't find me as funny as the others or because every time you yell at me your face gets all red and it's so cute…I just know that I like you.''

He was looking at the ground with a new found interest. Katie on the other hand couldn't look away from him. He liked her? _He _liked her! He liked _her_. Oh gods…did she liked him too? The answer to that question was surprisingly easy.

''I like you too.'' She said in a small but even tone. The room was quiet and she was sure that he had heard her.

''You what?'' he asked unbelievingly, a wide smile spreading on his face.

Katie blushed despite her.

''Do you want me to write it? 'Cause I'm sure that it wouldn't get any clearer because of the dysle…'' she was suddenly cut of by a warm lips on hers.

And they both were surprised how good it felt. Who knew that after everything they've been through they would end up like that?

''Well, it was about time!'' Connor's voice rang through the room, making the couple brake apart immediately.

Katie was still a deep shade of red while Travis was grinning next to her.

''I told you so.'' Piper mouthed as she entered with Jason and Leo on her tail, laughing about something.

The meeting started and Travis immediately occupied the chair next to Katie. He intertwined their fingers under the table and didn't let go the whole time.

''Did you liked my present by the way?'' he whispered to her at some time.

''It was you?'' she asked incredulously, earning a strange look from the Roman praetor Reyna and Chiron.

He just chuckled and squeezed her hand. As Annabeth began speaking again, Katie restrained herself from laughing at the thought of how easy love actually was.

**A\N: Okay, in my opinion they are a little OOC especially Travis but please don't judge me too much. I usually don't read stories for them, only stories with them, if that makes any sense. I love them though and I won't say no to some suggestions about what kind of couple are they. **

**Don't hate me too much okay? Just review and let me know how bad I had done this time. Oh and Happy Valentine's to everyone (even if I'm a little late)! Review!**


	5. It's a Grace thing

**A\N: hey guys, uhm…I am really sorry about not updating for so long. I got really sick after the last time I updated and was at home for ten days. That sent me to Tartarus the moment I went back to school. **

**At the very first day my Physics' teacher decided to test me on what I know… about the things he taught the others while I was gone. I swear he's some kind of a monster though I can figure out what. Anyway, I was stuck in school work.**

**But enough of that, now about the chapter. **

**I wanted to do this pairing for a long time but didn't actually had a proper idea which didn't make me give up so here I am now, after a month and so I finally figured it out. Hurray for me (sarcasm by the way). And I know that you are already tired of this note so I'm starting with the chapter. **

**You know that I don't own most of this right? Right. Then on with the story.**

_It's a Grace thing _

Thalia stomped angrily in Cabin one with water dripping from her and dirt covering her from head to toe. She shut the door with so much force that it made the windows shake for a while.

Zeus had given permission to her and Jason to restore the cabin to make her more comfortable for living. Of course Annabeth was glad to help and the building now looked like a place you could live in, with windows, bathroom and beds. The statue of Zeus was removed but the magical sealing stayed along with the walls and the big door. It was perfect.

She didn't stop there and marched to the bathroom, lightings starting to crack in her hair. She shut that door too before turning on the water and preparing herself to get a much needed shower.

Five minutes later she went out dressed in a clean camp T-shirt and a pair of shorts with a towel over her shoulder-length hair. She was still fuming. She had a sparing match which Nico and Percy, each against each. And in the end, when Thalia was this close to pummeling the stupid son of Hades he paired up with Perseus and before she knew it she was showered with cold water in the middle of the fighting arena in front of half of the camp. Of course they got both electrocuted so hard that their clothes almost burst into flames and they both had to jump in the lake to prevent that. Well, for Percy that wasn't much but Nico wasn't going to do it if the son of Poseidon hadn't dragged him along to the water. In the end the poor guy resurfaced gasping for air and started chasing his cousin around cursing him in ancient Greek.  
It was pretty amusing to watch but Thalia was still angry that they double crossed her, breaking the rules _they_ had established and agreed on.

Someone knocked on the door and before she had the chance to yell at whoever it was to scram before she could take her anger on him, he entered.

''Hey, are you okay? You were quite angry back there.'' He stated and she fought the urge to roll her eyes.

''I still am mad.'' She answered and plopped on her bed.

''Should I leave you alone or you don't mind me staying? Because I want to help you if a can but if you can handle this on your own then probably I should just…'' he was rambling now and Thalia felt herself relax. She stiffened a laugh but she couldn't help but grin at his nervousness.

''I would like you to stay.'' She chuckled at him and he visibly relaxed coming next to her.

''I'm sorry for what happened. They shouldn't have done it. But really, they didn't mean any wrong.'' He assured her trying to calm her down.

She chuckled again and lifted her eyes. Electric blue met electric blue.

''I know they didn't mean any harm. But it still didn't feel nice even though it's a game. The thing I most hate is betrayal in it's every form.'' She said suddenly serious.

He watched her carefully while her thoughts led her to different places, different people and different memories.

She remembered how she thought the Hunters were her family but they went against her when she wanted to see her brother, a boy. And she left them behind, turned against them too because they simply would never understand the connection she had with Jason.

She frowned remembering how she used to trust Luke with her life and he ended up poisoning her tree and causing the death of so many people like Silena and Beckendorf. Yeah, he turned to be a true hero in the end but still, she couldn't forget even though she forgave him.

She remembered how she trusted her mother but she stabbed her in the back by leaving Jason in that old house to die. She never really liked her, let alone loved her as a mother but at least she trusted her to take care of her baby boy, her own son. And yet, she did the unthinkable, turning away from her child, thing that Thalia thought no mother could do. But she was proven wrong.

Jason's words brought her back to reality.

''You know that they trust you right? They would never betray you. You three have such a strong relationship that no one can break it. You tease each other but when it comes to serious things, no one can touch the other because you're the children of the big three.'' Jason said to her with a strange spark in his eyes.

''You and Hazel are children of the big three too.'' Thalia automatically said but Jason simply shook his head again.

''Yeah, but this is different. You, Nico and Percy are simply an unbreakable team, everyone knows that.'' He said somewhat distant this time which confused Thalia.

A silence fell upon them. She didn't know what happened but Jason had suddenly turned distant. She tried to read his face, to notice something that would tell her what had caused the sudden change but she couldn't. His face was blank, emotionless. The roman in him had shown once again.

''What's wrong?'' she asked him trying to gain his attention again but he refused to look at her. It seemed that the floor was much more interesting.

''Nothing is wrong.'' He stated still not letting any emotion to be shown.

''Don't dare lying to me little bro.'' she threatened him playfully and nudged his shoulder lightly.

''You know, technically, I'm half a year older than you now.'' He said a ghost of a smile spread on his face.

''You know I'm born way before you right? But it doesn't matter now, were together and that is the important thing.'' She stated and he finally looked up at her.

And it was then, when their eyes met, that she understood what was bothering her little brother.

She frowned at the sight of his guarded expression, at his cold attitude. She couldn't help it but feel guilty for causing this kind of pain to him.

Meanwhile, he was scanning her face too, searching for something but when he couldn't find it, he decided to ask out loud. What could be the worst thing that could happen after all?

''Do you really like it? The fact that…that I'm here again, that we're together?'' he asked carefully, trying not to sound weak and fragile because gods forbid it if the roman praetor showed any kind of weakness.

Thalia looked up at him (he had became taller than her) with sad but determined eyes.

''Yes. Of course I am happy, I'm ecstatic actually. You don't have any idea what I've been through since…because you were gone.'' She stated with scrunched eyebrows.

Some force, maybe their father, maybe Hestia overcame Thalia then and the words started flowing on their own.

''I couldn't forgive myself for being so stupid and giving you to her that day in front of the wolf house. I should have known, I should have guessed but I thought that she was finally changing. After I saw her on the front steps without you…I freaked out. I thought you were dead, she kept repeating that you were gone…I was ready to strike her with lightning then and there but I guess dad was watching over me because I couldn't create even the smallest spark. She had to drag me away from the house and it took us almost three hours to leave.'' By that time Thalia was trying hard not to let the emotions overtake her.

She could feel the burning needles in her eyes and she squeezed them tight, letting her head fall in her hands. She wouldn't cry. Not now, not yet. She still had a lot to tell him.

''I could hear you. Lupa found me inside and kept me by her side but I could hear you. I guess you couldn't hear me though. But I could.'' He said suddenly, a week smile playing on his lips.

Thalia smiled a little too before sighing and continuing.

''The same night I decided that I've had enough. The only thing that had been stopping me from leaving was you. I couldn't let you live with her, she wasn't capable of taking care of you. She was too absorbed of her misery and anger towards dad. But now that you were gone I couldn't stand her, the house, the memories…so I left. That same night.''

Thalia paused again to breathe and Jason reached to grab her hand. She was surprised because it had been a while since someone wanted to comfort her. She squeezed his hand in return and met his eyes.

''A few months later I met Luke, the son of Hermes. I'm sure you've heard of him but don't ask. The story is just too long and complicated. So, I met Luke and he kind of helped me continue. I didn't tell him for you of course, I didn't tell anyone. It was too painful for me to remember. Then we came upon Annabeth, a lost seven-year-old girl, running away from her family. She reminded me so much about you and I decided that she was my chance. And I took care of her as best as I could…

Things changed a few years ago when I, Percy and Nico went on a quest in the Underworld. We met a woman, which came to me as our mother. I would never forget her words: 'You know, it shouldn't be me you see. There's someone else, someone that haunts you even more than I. But he's a ghost that's not really dead.' At first I thought she was playing tricks on us all but then, after the quest as I was returning to the huntress I had the time to think…and I felt the hope finally rising. I couldn't believe it, after all these years, there was a chance for you to be alive…but when I talked to Artemis to let me search for you she didn't let me go. And that was when everything began.''

Thalia had finished her story and surprisingly she felt relief. She had never had the urge to speak to anyone about these things; she didn't feel comfortable sharing such information. These memories were hers and no one else's. But telling this to him, gods it made her feel so much better.

''You never forgot me?'' Jason then said and she was surprised how weak his voice sounded, how many emotions he was letting go. For a moment she felt like the child she used to be once. Like he never left, like he still needed her there.

''Of course I didn't forget you. I missed you so much.'' She said to him, her tears finally spilling away and she cursed herself internally but he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms and to draw her close to him.

''I didn't forget you too, you know. When I was little I asked for you but no one knew you. When I grew up I wanted to go out and search for you but they wouldn't let me alone and I just couldn't explain what had happened when I lost you. I couldn't quite understand it myself. I never stopped thinking about you, were you okay, where were you, were you even alive. But I hoped that someday I'll see you again. I didn't give up, I just needed a plan.'' He shrugged and then Thalia laughed.

She straightened up and laughed, all trace of tears gone. He looked at her amused and tried to stop himself from laughing because it was insane: he didn't even know why he was laughing; the happiness that radiated from Thalia was just contagious.

''Then it's probably a Grace thing, keeping the hope in hopeless situations.'' She smiled at him and he decided that he didn't care why they were laughing. Why not? They were finally together, he had finally found her and she had given up the immortal life of huntress for him. He had a very good reason to be happy.

''And that's why little bro my relationship with you is so special. Yes, I'm close to Nico, Percy and even Annabeth but no one can take your place. And I've noticed that you and Percy are getting on well.'' she smiled at him.

''We make a good team.'' He just shrugged and smiled too for what felt like the millionth time this afternoon.

Jason thought of asking what happened with their mother but he decided against it. They had plenty of time to talk about things later.

''Come on, the weather is perfect. We can't waste a day like this bottled up in here, can we?'' he stood up and offered her his hand.

''Why not? But you'll help me get my revenge on them, right?'' She looked at him with a puppy dog eyes but soon after that she laughed again.

Jason casually threw his hand around her shoulder as they exited the cabin.

''We're Grace after all, no one can separate us.''

''Definitely.'' She said and let him drag her somewhere.

Because it didn't matter how old where they and who was bigger now. It didn't matter the years that they had spent apart. She could finally feel herself ready to forgive and move on. Because the past didn't matter, they weren't living there anymore. They were living in the present where he was walking right next to her. Like they had always been together. Like they had never been apart.

They both finally felt home.

**A\N: Okay, I know it turned out to be a little angst but it had to be done. They hadn't seen each other in so many years. They can't just see each other and everything to be normal. It never happens like that. **

**So how did I do this time? I think it turned out pretty well. I've always admired Thalia and I think she's not so OOC here but that is your decision to make. ****Please review and let me know what you think. I also accept any recommendations and prompts for future chapters.**

**I want you guys to know that I'm working on three AU stories about my beloved JASPER. So I'm kind of busy these days. Don't judge me too hard if I don't update okay? Thanks! And big Thank you to all my supporters, you guys make any day happy for me! Thanks.**

**Review please! **


	6. Forgive but don't forget

**A\N: Hi guys! I know my last chapter was a little hurt/comfort but I just couldn't help myself. This one won't be much happy too I fear. I hope you'll like it nonetheless. Enjoy!**

_Forgive but don't forget_

Annabeth and Thalia eyed each other silently asking the other if they should go. The daughter of Zeus could say that her best friend was just as unsure as she was.

''I don't have all day you know. Do you want to go or not?'' Nico asked them again impatiently.

Thalia then saw the answer in Annabeth's eyes and sighed.

''When are we leaving?'' she turned to the son of Hades.

''Now, my father will be on Olympus for only around half an hour so we have to be quick.'' He explained and motioned for them to follow him in the shadows.

* * *

Thalia felt anxious the moment she set foot in the Underworld. She wasn't supposed to be here. Not only was she still alive but this was her uncle's domain: it was as forbidden for her as the air for Nico and Percy. Hades could easily make her stay here permanently.

She shook her head and went to catch up with Annabeth and Nico who were already walking fast. They soon reached and entered their destination: Elyseum.

Thalia heard Annabeth gasp quietly beside her which she understood completely. The two girls had stopped, taken aback by the view. It was truly a heaven with the sun shining and happy voices ringing around them. It was so different from the rest of the Underworld, so much brighter and more colorful. It was really a place where you could live forever.

''Don't get distracted, you'll have plenty of time to admire it when you die. Our time is limited we have to move.'' Nico reminded and motioned for them to follow him forward.

They didn't talk while the son of Hades was leading them through a street. They passed a lot of people, most of them not older than twenty.

''Most of them are demigods. Mortals just rarely do something to deserve a place here these days. We're here.'' Nico finally announced and stopped in front of a wooden house.

It looked strangely familiar to Thalia. It was like a déjà vu in her mind but she couldn't put her finger on that particular memory. Annabeth clamped her wrist.

''Thalia, it's their house.'' The blond girl exclaimed with wide eyes.

Thalia froze and looked at the building again. It was true, it was the same house. She thought that she would never forget that place even though she had been there only one time. But this building looked better than the real one, like someone was taking care of it. She clenched her hands in fists while walking to the front door, trying to stop them from shaking.

They hesitated for a moment but before anyone could knock the door flung open to reveal him. Thalia breathed in suddenly: he had changed. His blond hair shone in the sunlight, making his mischievous blue eyes stand up even more. The scar that used to mark his cheek was gone and it seemed to have taken all the bitterness and hatred from his face too. She had really changed, Thalia thought. He looked just like the guy she remembered from before. The one she truly wanted to remember.

''Well, come in guys, I won't bite.'' he smiled and stepped away to let them in.

Annabeth and Thalia didn't react. Nico shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

''Uhm, maybe I should leave you to…'' he started but was cut off by Annabeth who stepped forward.

''I missed you Luke.'' She finally said and when he opened his arms she hugged him tightly.

''I missed you too Annie.'' He chuckled while hugging her back.

She pulled away with misty eyes and a smile on her lips. He ruffled her hair and she laughed a little swatting his hand away. Luke then turned to the other two people standing there and his face fell when he met Thalia's eyes. He motioned for them to come in. They followed him this time.

Nico looked around doubtfully but didn't say anything. Thalia was silent too. She was frowning, her hands now crossed in front of her chest while following the host.

''You said that you'll go for rebirth. What are you doing here?'' Annabeth broke the silence first.

''I decided to not run anymore. I have to face the consequences of my choices at least here.'' Luke answered with a sigh, his mood dropping a little.

A heavy silence fell upon them. Thalia was looking at the table they were seated around deeply in thought. When she realized no one was talking she raised her head to meet Annabeth's analyzing grey eyes. She sighed. Thalia had a feeling what the daughter of Athena wanted her to do but she didn't know what to say. Was she supposed to greet him like a long lost friend or beat him for everything he had done? She did miss him, yes, but too many things happened between them for everything to be normal.

''How are you doing Thals, how's the hunt?'' Luke took the first step and finally looked at her eyes.

A small, barely visible smirk crossed her face.

''I quitted.''

Luke's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Thalia couldn't help the chuckle that left her lips.

''Luke, did you knew that Thalia had a brother? A real one, not a half brother?'' Annabeth suddenly asked and was slightly relaxed to see the confusion on his face. At least Thalia wasn't hiding this only from her.

The said daughter of Zeus sighed at the sight of the two blonds looking at her; Annabeth was triumphant for making her talk while Luke was just curious and a little hurt. Beside her, Nico let out a snort and tried to cover it up with a cough but Thalia still kicked him under the table. He looked at her incredulously but she just smirked back at him.

''Kids, behave.'' Luke stepped in, making both of them look at him with one raised eyebrow. Annabeth burst out laughing.

''So, care to share the story of you brother with me?'' he asked her and the dark haired girl looked at his eyes again.

And then she told him the story. It was the shortest version since they didn't have much time but she was careful to not miss something important.

''So you have a little Roman brother that helped saving the world? Gods, how much have I missed?'' Luke exclaimed finally.

''Not much, just another great prophecy, a second Civil war with the Romans, Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus and then getting back, beating Gaea and making alliance with the Romans, stuff like that.'' Thalia shrugged at him watching as his face scrunched and he turned to Annabeth now.

He narrowed his eyes at her for a second but then sighed.

''So you decided to take the shorter way to here?'' he joked then and she laughed sheepishly.

The next fifteen minutes went like that, Annabeth explained about their quest with the occasional help of Nico and then Thalia told them about the fight with the Romans and how everything led to the combining of the two camps. The daughter of Zeus felt a strange tingle in her. She wanted to ask Luke something but in the same time she feared about his answer. So she decided to let it slide. After all, everything was past now.

''Sorry but is there a bathroom around here?'' Annabeth asked then and stood up.

''Around the corner, second door at right.'' Luke said while pointing out the direction.

Sensing the atmosphere, Nico stood up too.

''Wait, I'll come and … make sure that you won't get lost.'' He called after her and strode away leaving Thalia and Luke alone.

''That was the lamest excuse I've heard from him.'' Thalia commented chuckling and Luke joined her.

''Definitely.'' He agreed and looked at her eyes again. ''Thalia…''

''Luke don't, please let it go.'' She pleaded sensing what he was about to say and she didn't want to hear it. ''Don't spoil the moment.''

''I can't. I wanted to talk to both you and Annabeth but to you more. I'm sorry. I know that after everything I did it sounds cheap but I really am.'' He started but Thalia stood up.

He followed her example and caught her before she could leave. She was amazed by how real his grip felt. She looked back at him and suddenly it was like she had gone back in time, like everything was okay. But it wasn't and they both knew it.

''Why?'' she finally let the question out. ''Why so many people had to die? You said that you wanted to be free from the gods but in a way you were still commanded by them, doing everything against them even betraying your believes.''

He looked down, letting go of her but she didn't leave. Instead, she locked her eyes on him, her stare harsh and desperate in the same time.

''I was angry. I didn't know in what to believe anymore. I know I swore that we were one family but you were gone and things had changed but no one seemed to care. Gods Thalia, you sacrificed yourself for me and Annabeth and they didn't care! It just changed me I guess. I didn't want anyone to die though. And I'm sorry. For Silena and Beckendorf and the rest that died, for hurting Annabeth…and you.'' He finally said and raised his head to lock his eyes with hers.

Her breath caught in her throat as he came a little closer to her. However, she didn't back down.

''You poisoned my tree, you nearly killed me.'' She accused him and crossed her arms in front of her.

''I thought you were already dead.'' He simply explained and smiled sadly at her. ''If I knew there was a chance to return you back I would have done anything. But for me this stupid tree was a symbol of how unfair were the gods.''

Thalia sighed when his hand grabbed hers and she looked down. A feeling experienced so long ago that she had nearly forgotten about it creeped back in her and her heart started beating faster. He went closer to her.

''I know I screwed up and the things I did are unforgivable. I don't want you to forgive me, I don't deserve it. I just wanted to see you again, talk to you. To remind you of the good memories.''

Thalia looked up at him again and smiled.

''I think I can forgive you, one day. But I'll never forget you Luke. Don't ever doubt that.'' She said to him and before she could do anything his lips touched hers.

It was a simple, tender kiss but neither of them pulled away for a while. When they finally separated Thalia was trying hard not to let the tears escape from her eyes.

''It could have been like that. We…we could have had this.'' She said in a small voice, her eyes locked with his again.

''But I screwed it up.'' He smiled sadly at her, leaning his forehead on hers. ''I'm sorry for that too.''

Just then Nico and Annabeth burst into the room making the two separate immediately.

''We have to go, my father has returned!'' Nico said urgently and the too looked at each other.

''I'm sorry Thalia, Annabeth for everything, I really am. Annie, tell Percy that he had done good job taking care of you. Tell him I'm sorry and that I thank him for everything.''

''I will.'' Annabeth said and went to hug him again before she followed Nico outside.

Thalia didn't say anything. She just marched the two steps towards him and wrapped her arms around his warm body.

''I'll miss you Luke. And I won't forget, I promise.''

''One family.'' He whispered in her hair and she nodded briefly before flying out of the house and shadowtraveling back to the camp.

* * *

''Do you want a real opponent?'' Nico's voice reached her and she stopped slashing the poor dummy to look at him.

He was crossing the empty fighting arena, his hands in his pockets and his sword dangling from his belt.

''Why not?'' she said after a while and he smiled at her, pulling out his black blade.

They sparred for a few minutes and Nico finally gave up when he saw that neither of them was in it. Well, loosing for the third time was a factor too. She grinned at him and put away her sword before plopping down on the ground with a sigh.

''Loosing your touch Di Angelo?'' She mocked him and he smiled too.

''I guess it's not my day. Maybe tomorrow?'' he offered and she looked at him challenging.

''I'll be here.'' Thalia reassured him but then she sighed and looked at the trees ahead of her. ''Sit?''

He sat down next to her, his hands loosely on his knees and looked in the same direction as her. Everything was silent for a while.

''Thank you for bringing us to Luke today.'' She then said firmly without looking at him.

''No problem.'' He reassured her, not looking at her too. ''Did you manage to talk?''

Thalia turned her intimidating eyes at him suspiciously.

''You know, you and Annabeth weren't exactly subtle with the bathroom thing.''

''Well, you two needed to talk. What was I supposed to do?'' Nico defended himself and Thalia laughed at his red face.

''Thanks.'' She said to him again.

''That's what family is for.'' He shrugged and looked at her.

His brows furrowed when he saw her unreadable expression. ''What?''

''Family?'' she questioned him then and his face heated again.

''Well, yeah. At least that is what you are for me. You, Percy and the rest of the seven, the Stolls…camp has turned out to be my family.'' he shrugged again and looked away.

Thalia put her hand on his shoulders laughing lightly.

''Don't worry kiddo, we accept you like family too. We are all one big family here.''

He scowled at her and she laughed even more. ''What?''

''You know that I'm older right?'' he asked her matter-of-factly. ''And taller too.''

Thalia smiled at him.

''I'm sixteen now and you are what? Fourteen?''

''Very soon to be fifteen, but might I remind you that I was born at least twenty years before you?'' he said smugly.

She scanned him from head to toe and she had to admit that he didn't look like the little child they brought here so long ago. Not only was he more serious now but he had grown physically. He wasn't scrawny anymore, his body was toned and well-built because of all the training and fighting. He looked like someone older. And even though it made Thalia blush and smack herself mentally, she had to admit that he had turned to be quite handsome.

''Does it matter? We've all grown up early. You were engaged in a war when you were only thirteen. And I almost died when I was twelve. I think numbers don't matter.'' She finally said and looked at the sky.

Nico nodded silently and they stood like that for a while. Thalia was about to tell him something else when a voice startled them.

''Well, well, well, what do we have here?'' Percy snickered from the other side of the fighting arena. ''Thalia and Nico sitting on a tree…''he started chanting.

''Very mature Jackson.'' They both shouted to him and then grinned at each other.

Percy laughed even harder.

''And to think that I didn't bet on you? Shame.'' He managed to choke out.

''Wait, what bet?'' Thalia rose from the ground to fix the son of Poseidon with her intimidating eyes properly.

''Well the Aphrodite cabin think that you'll make a nice couple but I was against it. How wrong was I!'' Percy said while wiping his eyes.

Nico had risen too and now he was looking at Thalia, mirroring her red face and wide eyes.

''On three?'' He suggested to her.

''Why should we wait to three. NOW!'' Thalia yelled and they both dashed after Percy who yelped and sprinted towards camp, followed closely by the two.

The three ran around the pavilion for hours while the other campers snickered at them. Annabeth was watching the whole things with Piper, Leo and Jason but she didn't hear their conversation. She was too busy enjoying the view. Her family.

**A\N: So this is it. Some Thaluke and then a little start of Thalico. I know it turned out to be a little angst, much like the previous one and I'm sorry if I had burdened you but this was necessary. Everything from the past had to be cleared up before the new changes start. And I promise that the next chapters will be lighter. Much lighter. Which remind me that you are free to give suggestions and prompts. I hope that you liked it. **

**Review please! IT means a lot to me!**** Love ya! **


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